Designated Apostles

March 3

(Luke 6:12-16 NIV) “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. {13} When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: {14} Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, {15} Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, {16} Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.”

Jesus had a message: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.” He had a method: travel, preach, and heal. But Jesus had a couple of problems. First, He knew that He would be leaving. He had come to die for the sins of the world, but wanted His work to continue. Second, He lived in an age before print or electronic media. There were few books and most could not read. Newspapers, magazines, brochures, or tracts would not work. There was no radio, no TV, and no internet. How would the gospel get out? Jesus prayed and chose twelve men. He wrote His message upon their hearts, and their lives became His means of communication. They would go out from His presence and take the gospel to the world. This is still Christ’s plan, and you have been chosen as a disciple and a witness. You are His method and His message. Go! Be an apostle of His grace and truth! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

A Special Day

March 2

(Luke 6:2 NIV) “Some of the Pharisees asked, "Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?””

(Luke 6:9 NIV) “Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?””

(Mark 2:27 NIV) “Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.””

(Genesis 2:3 NIV) “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

The Sabbath was created for our benefit, not God’s. God blessed it and made it holy. It was given to us by the Lord for our renewal, not our enslavement. It may be even more important now, in our activity addicted, stress filled culture, than it was in Christ’s day. The Pharisees had taken what God gave as a blessing, and made it a religious burden. Instead of bringing joy and refreshment, it had become an oppressive yoke. This is what happens when we take a privilege and make it a law -- when we take a gift of God and make it into a rule. For the Christian who lives by grace, one day in seven to rest is still an important principle, but God will not strike us down if we stumble in it. Just don’t forget that it was made for us, and given to us as a gift. Take it and use it for your physical and spiritual benefit. Find your rhythm. It will enrich your life in ways you cannot imagine. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Lord of the Sabbath

March 1

(Luke 6:5 NIV) ““Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

(Luke 6:11 NIV) “But they were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.”

(John 5:16-18 NIV) “So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him. {17} Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." {18} For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.”

As the Pharisees railed at Jesus for violating the Sabbath law, He did something even worse in their eyes. He told them that He was the “Son of Man” and “Lord of the Sabbath”. He was saying: “I am the Messiah. I created the Sabbath, and I, not you, will decide what is lawful to do on this day.” The Pharisees knew exactly what He was saying, but refused to recognize Jesus as Lord of the Law. Their hypocrisy had blinded them, and they started making plans to get rid of Him. Bucking the Pharisees could be fatal, as they were willing to violate the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not murder”, in order to enforce the fourth commandment concerning work on the Sabbath. They were saying, “You must keep the commandments, but we are free to violate them.” This is the essence of hypocrisy. Don’t join with them. The Lord of the Sabbath says it is lawful to do good every day of the week. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day